Pessimism or Optimism?

[Barleymower]

You might say; "The realistic view is that gender free clothing is not going to happen soon or even within our lifetimes":

You might say; "it's out there already. Men are claiming their right to dress as they choose".

My own view is to push negative, pessimistic thoughts out of my head when they creep in. If my outlook is pessimistic then the direction I take is liable to lead me too the place I least want to be. It"s easier said than done but I know it's worth the effort so I keep trying.

Does the group see itself as optimistic or Pessimistic with regard to MIS?

[rivegauche]

I am not convinced you need to be one or the other when it comes to future skirts. If you have to choose one, why not choose optimism? That way you feel better all the time and the only possibility of feeling bad is IF it all doesn't go to plan. If you choose pessimism you feel bad all the time even though it hasn't gone wrong yet - why would you do that?

[STEVIE]

..............or, "Expect the best and prepare for the worst".
Better still, live for today because we are a long time dead.
NB these are not my own pearls of wisdom.
Steve.

[Stu]

In the long-term, optimism, but the key to progress is to open opportunities for the next generation for whom the massive taboo of males wearing anything but trousers has softened considerably. As evidence of that, we are seeing every year boys in UK schools protesting about not being allowed to wear shorts by turning up in skirts. Just last month, we had a story on here about a boy in Scotland who wears a dress for school https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/18145 ... pirational. If you look at some of the comments on this story even in this ultra-conservative news outlets, it is amazing how many people are unruffled by this. I have been told separately by both a head teacher of a primary school, and by a relative who works in a school, that while this is still unusual, it is by no means unknown. In the case of the latter informant, one lone boy turned up one day at her secondary school in a skirt when told he couldn't wear shorts, although she knows the lad and suspects he saw it as "a bit of a laugh" and didn't do it again. She had a light-hearted discussion with one of her classes about uniform in general and she got around to asking the students to raise their hands if they thought boys should be allowed to wear skirts if they wished, and almost all did so. That would have been unthinkable a decade ago. She asked how many of the boys would actually wear skirts if it was not only allowed, but considered as normal as girls wearing trousers and a handful of boys raised their hands, which caused some hilarity. One girl said the boys wouldn't be so relaxed about wearing a skirt in winter, at which one of those boys replied with a straight face "I'd wear thick tights" and the girl said "OK". I can not even begin to imagine such attitudes being expressed even a decade ago, let alone when I was at school.

So there are reasons to be optimistic, but I think the next generation will be the beneficiaries rather than us.

[denimini]

Well I feel that we have that freedom now, as I am living it wearing a mini skirt almost all the time with general acceptance or disinterest from others. Men already can wear the clothing of their choice and most choose to wear pants.

[Coder]

Well I feel that we have that freedom now, as I am living it wearing a mini skirt almost all the time with general acceptance or disinterest from others. Men already can wear the clothing of their choice and most choose to wear pants.

As I am finding out too - with the exception of close family - but there is always some doubt in my mind. I had lots of it yesterday even though I’ve made a lot of progress.

[Spirou003]

I join Stevie with this, not only for skirts but in general. Expect and prepare the worst, so that most of the possible incomes are swapped into positive new. Said differently, cut down you expectations to get happiness from "neutral" as well as from "good" and to swap "bad" into "normal"

[Barleymower]

....
So there are reasons to be optimistic, but I think the next generation will be the beneficiaries rather than us.

Your post lifted my spirits like no other for quite a while.
If possible I would like to know which school the head spoke to the children as they did. why?.my son occasionally wears a skirt to school on home clothes day. It would be great if our head did the same and it might help if they knew of another school that spoke to the children about skirts.

As for beneficiaries.. we are benefiting, we go out and enjoy our clothes rather than trudge along in boring old trousers.
There's something to be said for being a mavric.

[Fred in Skirts]

Me, I prefer Optimism!
I wear my skirts out and about everyday, as well as dresses and I get no feed back good or bad. The general population doesn't even pay attention to what I am wearing anymore. It has become normal or even copacetic to most of them.

[TSH]

I am not convinced you need to be one or the other when it comes to future skirts. If you have to choose one, why not choose optimism? That way you feel better all the time and the only possibility of feeling bad is IF it all doesn't go to plan. If you choose pessimism you feel bad all the time even though it hasn't gone wrong yet - why would you do that?

Being pessimistic and lowering your expectations can save you from disappointment. I find that it's worse to get your hopes up for the future, only to be let down by the outcome, rather than trusting your negative thoughts about something you feel will not be up to your own outlook. Pessimism isn't rational, either, of course; it's best to maintain a healthy degree of both — or just being realistic about this and wait and see if any significant change happens.

[jamodu]

There’s no sense in being pessimistic: it wouldn’t work anyway

[Midas]

Optimists live longer.

[Coder]

Optimists live longer.

Well, they think they do, anyways.

[crfriend]

Optimists live longer.

Well, they think they do, anyways.

Well, there's a heck of a selling point. Live longer in more misery -- be an Optimist!'

[Kirbstone]

As I am now knocking on 82, World affairs for me will be short term indeed and I will strive to make them as comfortable as possible with no excesses. As to my 16-person 'dynasty' of descendants, they are already confronted with a minefield that just didn't exist in my childhood.

Lets just hope they will live out their respective lives without being called up to fight in some war.

Tom